A discussion on the future of the area to the south of Leeds city centre was attended by about 40 people yesterday evening.

The meeting, held on The Calls, was organised by the Leeds Sustainable Development Group (LSDG), which is is a network of individuals who share a commitment to their city and want to work together to make it better.

LSDG's first objective is to create a self-sustaining, open and inclusive forum to enable everyone in Leeds to say what sort of place they want to live in, to put forward ideas and to participate in developing proposals and options, at a stage when it can make a difference. The second objective is to contribute to the promotion of a wide-ranging debate, bringing together the city, its practitioners, academics, thinkers, designers, researchers and others who have an interest in, or wish to make a contribution to, the creation of a shared vision for Leeds.

David Lumb, a contributor to LSDG, said:

"Tonight is part of a forum that is working towards a shared vision for the sustainable future for Leeds. We're not looking at the next four weeks or the next four months, we're looking at something for the coming 20 years and beyond."

Ideas and notes from meeting

Some of the ideas/observations/notes made at last night's public meeting, which was held at the Leeds Design Innovation Centre, included:

* Reducing traffic in the area - 'spend a few million quid' altering the junction at Armley Gyratory to discourage traffic from going into the area.

* Introduce a cheap single-track heritage loop tram line to link important buildings like Temple Works together. Avoid the transport issues that face struggling Clarence Dock.

* People have the whole world to choose from - why come to Leeds? We have to make Leeds sustainable and carbon neutral. We need to look at local food production and green space and quality of life and make the area to the south of Leeds 'as desirable as Chapel Allerton or Headingley'.

* Holbeck and Hunslet are in desperate need of regeneration - could they be main benefactors of and south bank scheme? Could a government department be relocating to the south of Leeds? Area is almost as big as Salford Docks. Is Leeds a town or a city?

* Make use of existing assets such as Temple Works and the Royal Armouries.

* A city centre park for the area ought to be a 'seed at the core' which people want to live around.

* There needs to be a pooling of resources and ideas and a joined-up approach from landowners, city fathers and interested parties - form a Leeds Sustainable Development Corporation?

* A new school would attract families - form a community. A small town?

* Do we need one 'big idea' for the area?

* Does Leeds want to be a large and provincial city or a European city of destination?

* Is flooding a problem or an opportunity? Should we reverse the development process? Shoudl we look at infrastructure, buildings and parks first and then decide where roads should go?

A website forum has been set up to provide an opportunity for everyone who is interested in taking part. To promote a debate LSDG has written and circulated a leaflet called 'Leeds City Centre South: the long view' which encapsulates the work being done by the initial contributors to the LSDG for the proposed second Leeds City Centre Vision Conference in October.What do you think? Have your say in the comments section below.